The Ovo Experience

Went to see Ovo on Sunday. It’s the latest Cirque Du Solei show to hit Boston. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it. Some of the action is downright jaw dropping and some of it makes you wish you had armrests to grip because even though there’s safety equipment, at times it just looks like someone’s career could end if they made a misstep. That being said, I’ve never seen a more confident and athletic group of performers. Yes, this was my first Cirque show.

Let me get ONE complaint out of the way: the industrial air conditioners immediately behind the thin wall of the big-top leave one wishing that one had tickets closer to the stage. I could not believe the roar these things let out. It wasn’t deafening, just surprising for a performance that relies so heavily on music. Once I settled in and the action started, I forgot about them. It could’ve been the sound of traffic and I wouldn’t have cared, the show is THAT good. There’s no way I could’ve counted how many times I said things like, “incredible”, “unbelievable”, “woah”, “are you serious?”, and “that’s not right,” because the tricks, the costumes, and the timing are all impeccable.

I don’t want to ruin any surprises but there was a moment toward the end of the performance where I thought I was watching someone get seriously injured, only to have my jaw drop and start laughing hysterically instead. Let’s just say that if Sylvester Stallone could’ve done this in his blockbuster hit “Cliffhanger”, the movie wouldn’t have been very exciting.

The long and short of it is that the show is worth every penny to see and I can’t wait to see another one. Perhaps next time it’ll be a little cooler outside so they don’t have to have what sounds like a commuter train sitting outside the tent just to keep the temperature in the upper 70s.